Top 10 "Next Step" Board Games 

At the moment, my wife and I are at that next level step in our boardgaming hobby. We are currently loving: Raiders Of The North Sea, Wingspan, Everdell, Rajas Of The Ganges and Orleans. And I´m realy looking foreward to Lost Ruins of Arnak.

I've been waiting for a list like this! Thank you!

I’ve got to say... you’re definitely the content creator with the most momentum, and the best content at this time. Keep it up!

This is a nice video, you typically only hear folks talk about gateway games or medium to heavy games, not the in between 🙂

Just wanna say that this is the best board game content on RU-vid. I really appreciate your channel.

Good video. Maybe adding an image of the game setup as well (even if it’s taken from the net) just to show what the in game experience looks like.

fantastic choice of subject. highly recommend,request you do a part II (next ten next step games)

Good video. I recommend doing a series that is an offshoot. In this series, you start with a good game, a starter or common ... and then go specifically for next steps for that game: Catan - Next Steps Spice Road - Next Steps Carcassanne - Next Steps Just address different games a person who likes each might look to next.

Your videos are interesting and refreshing. You seem to be able to find those subjects not often if not at all covered in other boardgame channels.

loved the video! you did already gateway games and here are next step games, I would love to hear a list of your favorite gamer games (the heavy ones) next.

Hey thank you for following up on my question and making this video!!!!! I've been waiting for this one :)

This is a great topic. I’ve watched a few of your videos, but this one got me to hit the subscribe button.

I have found that Bus, Everdell, and Nemesis work well as "Next step" games depending on the person. (Bus for thinky strategy people, Everdell for less intense strategy people, and Nemesis for experience/fun people)

Great list! Convinced me of unwrapping Glen More II which was staring at me from the shelf while you were talking ;) Will introduce it to my group. They are ready! Like the channel. Subscribed!

Wonderful video. Very well thought out and explained. Thanks!

Thanks for the video. Very entertaining and nice selection!

This is a great topic! I’ve been on the fence about Istanbul because I played the base game and loved it but I agree with you it is a little too simple after a few rounds. Hearing that the Mocha and Baksheesh expansion elevates that to a “next step” game has convinced me to pick it up for myself :) BTW I really like where you’re filming 👍🏻

Nice job on the lighting! Dunno if you changed anything but this one is definitely much softer than what I remember. Makes you look great! :D

Nice video! I’ve tried to be tactical when introducing new people to games; I try and start with a simple version of the mechanic we are shooting for and build from that. For example I want to teach Spirit Island- so I started with Pandemic (to teach co-op play) and Star Realms (to teach basics of deckbuilding and combos)

City of Spies looks like the perfect game for our group. Dont know how I missed this game :-O thx!!!

Just picked up Forgotten Waters a couple days ago. I think this hits this category perfectly. A semi-coop with easy rules, a touch of screwage and huge amounts of story and theme to keep everyone engaged. I think its going to be a great way to lead people down the rabbit hole.... ;)

Thank you for you kind words about our game. Now you should try Estoril 1942 Super box (full expansions and promo cards).

Great list! Some of these are my favorite games, in particular Everdell (Which I just discovered) and City of Spies (which I've had for years), Zombicide Black Plague, are some of my favorites. Next step games I really like that aren't on your list are Oceans, Castles of Burgundy (though arguably this may not be in this category). I'm thinking that Edge of Darkness should be on the list (I haven't played it yet) as its kind of the next step beyond Mystic Vale, which is a great gateway game.

My typical next level is Lords of Waterdeep. It isn't too weighty, is a stealth Euro-style game, where the workers are fighters, clerics, rogues and wizards, and it is set in the D&D universe. It plays well at 2, but is better with 3 or 4. Roll for the Galaxy is a nice fast moving multiplayer, and adding players doesn't slow the game down. Roll is a bit easier to teach to new players than Race, because in Race cards are everything, the dice provide a separation. I have had good luck with Wingspan and The Crew - Quest for Planet Nine ( which is also great as a travel game ). Don't rule out solo or group board gaming on PC, I tend to go for the purpose made games. Dire Wolf has great versions of both Sagrada and Root. Playdek has very good versions of Lords of Waterdeep and Twilight Struggle. You can find things at every game length and weight. Roll for the Galaxy and Race for the Galaxy both have good PC ports from Temple Gates Games ( I still haven't played Shards of Infinity from them ). Handelabra Games has a good port of Spirit Island and Aeon's End. There are also the game engines like Tabletop Simulator, or Tabletopia. A PC version of a board game and Discord can be a nice way to "spend some time with family" even when you can't, regardless of the reasons.

" 'dilectable' can I use that? I don't think so... " 😂️😂️ thanks for the great content

Kudos for pitching Tak. Well done sir.

Good list thanks a lot man!!!

Nice list. Many fine choices ... and for the record I agree on the timer in Chinatown as it does add the element of urgency and not mathing it all out. I am a huge Clans of Caledonia fan and one that I believe qualifies as a "Next Step" game. Brings in some new mechanics to build on from gateway games. Pretty easy to teach and will have a nice familiar feel from that gateway game.

Thanks Alex! I always knew I had great taste.

Never played Bunny Kingdom before, but I think it's great that you stand your ground!

I would love a list for getting into next step after this. A gateway of getting into harder than these games. :-)

I like the idea of an underrated games list. I suppose we all feel passionate about the games we have brought into our collection and I keep trying to talk up or recommend Abomination: Heir of Frankenstein. But if it doesn’t make that list, it better make the top 10 themed games you will do one day.

thank youfor the list. this kind of list is not made as often as the gateway variant.

This kind of content is excellent. I've been easing my wife into the hobby by getting gateway games with different mechanics so she discovers what she likes and I found out that she likes games with "screwage" possibilities haha. I got Agricola Family Edition and she loves it for 2 reasons: 1) she loves the farming theme 2) she loves blocking me whenever it's possible. She is ruthless! And I think that couldn't have happened if she haven't played other games first. So, thanks for this list! Now I'm looking at Parks

Excellent video, these games are all in my wishlist now :) I'd like to suggest also Blood rage, Seasons and Lords of Xidit, which all has been loved by mid-to-new players in my group The best one has been Zombicide for sure!

Could you do more b roll of these games as you talk about them? I don't know most of these games and I'd love to see what's inside the box

Hey Alex, here’s a suggestion for the editing averse person you are (😜) for when you talk about games you physically have present. You always do a great job showing the front cover of each box, however, I recommend you flip the box over to the back cover and push it up towards the camera once you start talking about that game. It’ll give us a good look at the game board and components and is much more informative than the front cover is. I usually find myself always having BGG up whenever you talk about these games so I can see what the game looks like and I think if you had the back cover nicely visible that would help inform viewers while you talk and keep us from getting distracted by BGG. Of course you probably can’t push the back cover of the box too far forward to the point your camera has focusing problems between you and the box, but you have such a nice camera I bet you can get it fairly close and not have focusing issues. Experiment a little. Thanks! Love your commentary!!!!

I think one video I would be interested in is the second hand kickstarters. Which games already out are worth the purchase.

So, for buzzwords I was taking a shot every time you said "phenomenal" but booze was costing me more than board games...lol. I love that word so I couldn't help but notice when you said it.

You cut Concordia from this list. Unbelievable. We're in a fight until you release the next video.

Two game series I never see you talk about, but we love in our house, are Empires of the North (a big improvement on Imperial Settlers), and the West Kingdom games. Paladins is getting an expansion, Viscounts should be out soon, and The West Kingdom Tomesaga to turn the three games into a campaign. Also not sure where Watergate would fall in, but I love it too.

Excellent video! On your advice, I purchased Cthulhu Death May Die, and am loving it! It provides an incredibly cinematic, chaotic experience both solo and cooperatively. I would love to see a video that compares all of the Zombicide games. I want to follow your advice again and get Black Plague, but the sci-fi element of Invader appeals to me more (although the characters don't at all).

For our group it was power grid. It was an easy game to teach and I got to give everyone little jobs. You can be the bank, you can adjust player order and keep track of the building and I did the market admin. Everyone grasped the strategy of the game after the first play through and instantly demanded a rematch

Love love love Five Tribes. :)

I always find Architects of the West Kingdom, Champions of Midgard, Raiders of the North Sea and Le Havre always seams to go over well with next level gamers. And yes my wife moved from gateway to next level with Concordia and Power Grid.

Of those games in my collection, Alchemists and Clank have been good next level games. They have the essense of a game that is a bit hard to learn, but becomes very intuitive while playing, which i think helps to deal with "fear of rulebooks"

I think Wingspan was a good intermediate game to bring to the table!

Wait do you have a gateway game list?? Love all of your videos!

Res Arcana for sure. The iconography is very straightforward, there's only a couple cards and places of power that need a little more explaining, and the fact that you're just doing one action per turn keeps people from feeling overwhelmed. The game is also short enough that once the kinks of the first playthrough have been worked out it's very easy to suggest that "one more game", which is something I think is very important for newer gamers. Plus there's the four "beginner" Mage/Card setups that are highly functional and super easy to learn. It's also a gorgeous game. The amount of detail in the card artwork is astonishing, and the fantasy theme is tastefully done. Great, highly functional insert too.

Great job.. same vain my shout outs would be , skulk hollow, escape from the aliens in outer space , roam, galaxy trucker , dead of winter.. cause these blew so many into my groups..

Interesting topic, Alex. I was a console gamer (mostly Xbox) and played a considerable amount of RPG games, but my line of professional requires me to constantly look at the computer screen all day long, and somehow I got the idea of board-gaming and pursued relentlessly afterwards. My first games were Eldritch Horror and Scythe and I love them both; it took me a while to figure out how things work (it wasn't a smooth sailing), but eventually, I am glad that I found this hobby. Surprisingly, I really love solo board-gaming (mostly co-op games; generally I prefer 2.5 to 3 hours session) more than anything else (it is like therapeutic sessions) for me, but Iike you said it is not for everyone.

Listening to your video while I do work. I thought you said "people like sex" when you were talking about sets with the Valeria games. It instantly made me jump back to the computer to see what was going on.

26:38 - Subtle Jesse impression. Almost missed it. 😂😂😂

Mr. Burns (The Simpsons) has already mastered the saying of the word "excellent."

Thank you for the video I’m a new fan and sorta new to table top, my first game was axis and allies them I made the jump straight to twilight emperium it’s amazing. I was wondering if I’m your own way could tell the noobs the difference between the many types of games? Thanks

Personally I generally think games with a BGG weight of below 2 are gateway games. Your five suggested gateway games are all below this weight. I would say "Next Games" broadly have a weight of 2 to 2.5. Anything above that would most likely be too much of a jump for newbies looking for the next step up. Therefore out of your games I might include Istanbul at 2.58, possibly City of Spies at 2.52 (although do not know it myself), Bunny Kingdom, Chinatown, Tak (again I do not know them), Parks, and Zombicide Black Plague, and Cthulhu: Death May Die.

i forget who it was, but i had seen a RU-vid video calling them foundation games, rather than gateway games, because they can be replayed and revisited even after you grow. Some good next step games; Big Book of Madness for a co-op Descent or Massive Darkness for a campaign style dungeon crawler Colt Express for a light competitive Core Worlds for a heavy competitive

Thanks for the nice video! How about the expansions of City of Spies? Are they worthy?

Sure, I’ll try making a list. I, too, will choose 11: Isle of Cats Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition Clank Junk Art Search for Planet X Mystic Vale Raiders of the North Sea Sub Terra Wiz War Isle of Skye Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective

Games like Glen More 2, Istanbul and Everdell are all great candidates for further bringing folks into the hobby, past the gateway games. I would also suggest Raiders of the North Sea/Scythia, Architects of the West Kingdom, Viticulture and Roll Player as some titles that fit this "next step" mold.

My personal next step are to just look for personal favorites that rate lower than 3.00 weight on BGG. Those games happen to be Mansions of Madness, Small World of Warcraft, and Big Trouble in Little China. Those rate from 2.0 to about 2.93.

I actually think Parks is the only "next step" game on this list. All others I would consider next next step.

Undaunted: Normandy is light enough to be a next step game for those who enjoy tactical decisions and grinding each other into the dirty. It's also quite attractive.

Hey Alex where do i see what games would be eligible for your patron insurance this has me intrigued but i couldn't find where to see that

Istanbul actually has a big box with a very fair price. Sounds to me like it's and excellent option to have; gateway game that you can scale up when you you want to.

Would have liked to have pictures of each game on the table... but a good list!

Bunny Kingdom is an amazing game and probably does belong on this list (it would probably be on mine). I have noticed with gamers early in their journey they can sometimes get lose in the math (as simple as it is)

Nice choices Alex. I suggest Abyss and Seasons.

Have you played Green Horde? What's your thoughts on it? I've a friend who I can buy it from with it's extra expansion but I am debating getting black plauge instead. Never played any of them but have borrowed his black plague to see if I like the mechanics 😃

Quacks of Quedlinburg, Pandemic, Horrified and Wingspan. Thanks for the fun video.

Also have you played Direwild? I saw it for sale on your store website if you have played what did you think of it?

Estoril 1942 is a wonderful game, try it. Best Portuguese game ever. The story behind it is very interesting. Spies in Portugal during WWII, not a subject that too much spoken of, but it was the main place for spies . I love it, there is a big box with some expansions also. MEBO GAMES

BGG's "Weight" rating system is completely skewed. Mainly because the people that write the reviews are seriously invested in games. Medium weight games can reasonably be rated as 2 to 2.5, although the scale goes from 1-5, so what I can infer is that long time enthusiasts sort of lose track of the fact that a game like Wingspan is light, but not gateway.

Alex, I usually will continue watching a video after a mid-video ad appears, but if a 2nd one comes on that's it and I'm done. There's money to be made, so I get it. I have no problem with the pre-video ads, but the mid-vid ad are disruptive.

what is your opinion about heavens and ale? is it gateway game?

Agree with another commenter on Isle of Cats, and Terraforming Mars. I’d add Wingspan, Grand Austria Hotel, Clank Legacy, Champions of Midgard.

Concordia for sure. You have to guide them with their first few turns so they can build a basic engine and then theyre good.

I think every vid, your slowly and slowly getting me interested in Zombicide. Personally I am a fan of the Zombie genre, but the game group I play with is not really fans of it, and would sooner pick something else to play. That is the only reason I am holding back on getting it.

OK I can cheer you for picking bunny kingdoms over Concordia? It is an excelente juego, I love it, and also about Istanbul I understand because it has a problem, you see the problem is that the game is no longer in my collection

Love everdell

"What's next?" Me: MAGE KNIGHT!

Alex, which Zombicide should I get...I like the theme on invader and also the new reprint of modern. IV never played? Most people recommend the titles but I don’t like the themes as much with the fantasy setting... Thanks in advance.

Clank worked well for my friends :D

i my self like stepup or next step games a lot. you get the learncurve feel out of it. even better if a game has that in the box. like a introductarary game or a learning game before the full game. for some games its easyer to scale complexity then others. for example the game GO for beginners you let them play on a smaller board to limit the options and limit the annalisis paralisis. as players get more into the game you can always increase the size of the bord. for me i actualy like a smaller than full size board becous its a bit faster to play. somtimes its homebrewing rules to make a ''teaching'' game. or ignoring a chunk of the rules becous of the teaching game.. dont know examples on demand. but i know i have done it in the past. i demo a lot on conventions (not this year.) and yea you pick up a few ways to explain dificult games.

What is a What Not or a What Knot? I have not heard this expression before.

Have you played villagers? I think it has a little too much for beginners but once you get the hang of it, it's a fantastic tableau builder with just enough stealing / using other people's cards. And the art is just lovely.

Aeon's End for DBG? A little bit difficulty but gamers can learn from the failure and may wanna try it one more time.

Firenze, Palaces of Carrara, Heaven & Ale and Calimala are clear omissions here...

I would agree with Everdell and my own steps went with Isle of cats, Castles of Burgundy, Terraforming Mars, Marvel champions and Viticulture. To be honest we still don't play things that have a weight > 4 on bgg. Not sure we ever will as I am not sure I ever feel like doing something so crunchy. A feast for Odin is the highest weight game I would like to purchase.

Great video! What would you say about Carcassonne Plus? Also, does it worth it?

Great choices, though I find Zombicide far too Alpha gamer prone. The way a game looks and its component quality is something im finding more important the deeper I get into this hobby. Rajas of the Ganges is a game that doesn't get enough love in this game weight category in my opinion.

Do you have any Everdell expansions?

Good list. I would have added wingspan

Bunny kingdom is in the list and concordia is not? Wow I must like your channel a lot not to unsub after that 😂

You should do a top 10 language independent games. Would love to have a great list so I can play more games with my wife.

Hmm Endeavour, Kemit, Concordia, Clank, Architects of the West Kingdom, War Chest.

What do you think of Diplomacy as a next-level game?

Rajas of the Ganges should definitely be considered a Next Step Game

I don't care for the theme of Glen More, did you ever try Lunarchitects?

🤣 'screw-age'? Love it!